Machine for harvesting potatoes or similar root crops.



- No. 747,771. PATENTED DB0. 22, 1903.

' v R. RICHTER. I MACHINE FOR HARVESTING POTATOES OR SIMILAR ROOT CROPS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16, 1903.,

N0 MODEL.

77/7775 5:5 INVENTOR P 'Rl/DOLF fi/GHTER 7976 77727 RNA-rs.

UNITED STATES Patented December 22, 1903. I

PATENT OFFICE.

MACHINE FOR HARVESTING POTATOES R SIMILAR RGOT CROPS.

SPEGIFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,771, dated December 22, 1 03- Application filed Apr1l16, 1903.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, RUDOLF RICHTER, landowner, a subject of the German-Emperor, residing at Mahlow, Provinceiof Brandenburg, Germany, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements idMacbines for Harvesting Potatoes or Similar Root Crops, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to. improvements in that class of potato-harvesting machines in which the tubers and theplants to which they are attached are freed from the earth which is raised therewith by means of a seradiallyin an arc of circle that the first is at right angles, or nearly so, to the row being worked and the last parallel, or nearly so, to such row, so that the roots which are unearthed by the plow share or shares in front of the machine and delivered therefrom to the sieves by means of an endless apron or belt or similar device are deposited in a long row or heap at the side of the machine.

The object of the invention is to furnish a potato-harvesting machine which shall in one single operation free the potatoes from the earth which clings to them and deliver them at one side, so that they will notbe damaged by the horse or wheels of the machine when the next row is harvested. With this in view the tubers and the plants to which they are attached are thrown by the plowshare upon a series of drum-formed sieves which all rotate in the same direction, but which instead of being cylindrical, as is usually the case, are conical and which are arranged with their flanks touching, so as to form aplane quadrant. Their axes are horizontal and arranged radially from a common imaginary center, that of the first or front drum being at right angles, or nearly so, to the row being Worked, while that of the lastor rear one is parallel, or nearly so, to such row. .I attain this object by the mechanism described in the accom panying drawings, in which similar letters denote similar parts throughout both views, and of which Figure 1 shows a plan'j'and Fig. 2 a side elevation, of the apparatus; ,7

On the front side of the three-wheeled frame Serial N... 152.969. (N0 model.)

a is th'e plowshare cl, of suitable form. '30- hind this the conical-shaped drum or sieves ,e e e rest in'their bearings and by means of bevel gear-wheels f and intermediate idle gears g are so connected that they all rotate in the same direction-namely, with their upper surfaces traveling rearward. quence of the radial arrangement of these drums in a common practically horizontal plane and with respect to a common imagi nary center and of the position of the first and the last'ones with relation to the row being unearthed the potatoes are. delivered To raise the potatoes from the plow share or In consesharesd to thefront sieve or drum 8, there is preferably a continuous-delivery apron m,

either of stout textile material or of slats and which is driven in any suitable mannerfor instance, by means of two gear-wheels n and v which may cling thereto or be raised therew-ith, on the apron m, which delivers them to the first sieve or drum e. In their passage over the sieves or drums e the earth and the potatoes are separated from each other, the former falling through the sieves, while the potatoes, with the roots, stems, and leaves, are carried along the upper surfaces-of the sieves .or drumsover the quadrant-shaped course and at last delivered sidewise at right angles, or' nearly so, to the furrow. The potoo tatoes are therefore not scattered overalarge area, but delivered in a narrow line or rowparallel to the course of. the machine, so that they may easily be collected.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a harvesting-machine for potatoes and similar root crops, means for freeing the tubers and the plants to which they are attached from the earth, in combination with a series of conical drums having their axes lying in or nearly in a horizontal plane, rotatable in the same direction, the drums being arranged radially in an arc of a circle so that the first is at right angles or nearly so to the row being worked and the last parallel or nearly so to such row, whereby the roots are delivered sidewise and in a long narrow heap.

2. In a harvesting-machine for potatoes and 

